Chapter 5

The heat and humidity was stifling within the wooden walls of the captain's quarters. You could feel the suns heat radiating off the walls, raising the temperature even further. It had to be nearly 100 degrees in the sweltering room. Naruto weakly raised his hand and wiped at the sweat beading up on his brow. His head felt a little foggy in the haze from his regained consciousness. For some reason, his bed felt strangely crowded on that sultry day and he could hear the presence of someone else in the room.

"Is that you Hinata?" He looked to the side and saw the dark haired woman sprawled out next to him. Her hair was strewn out underneath her small body. There was a thin sheen of sweat across her gentle face and down her neck to her glistening chest. The slit down the neck of her very thin shirt was pulled open allowing an unbelievable view halfway down the center of her chest. Although everything was covered, it was still something very enthralling.

Naruto didn't say anything and took the opportune time to watch her sleeping movements. The slight rise and fall of her chest in time with her breathing was soothing and the way her lips quivered upon each breath made him smile. He had his head propped up on his arm to continue watching her sleep until her eyelids started to flutter. Her pale eyes opened and glanced over and saw his smiling face looking at her. She smiled lightly and hid her face with one of her arms.

"Why are you watching me?" she squeaked.

"Because you are fun to watch… And you are in my bed."

"Oh, sorry…" She moved to roll off the bed when her shoulder was pulled back.

"I didn't say you had to go." He whispered

"I… I have to go." She replied

"Why?" She turned back to him with a serious but embarrassed look on her face.

"I have to go." She rolled off the bed and slipped on her normal outer clothing on and hurried out of the cabin.

"Damn, can it get any hotter in here?" He took off his sweat soaked shirt and wiped down his body with a clean cloth before stepping outside, still shirtless.

"Naruto-kanchou, welcome back." Kakashi greeted when the young man arrived on the quarterdeck.

"Good to be back. So where are we? It feels like we're sailing straight to hell."

"We're just outside of Fire Island."

"Fire Island? Why are we here?"

"The crews of the fleet took a vote; we all decided that we should push to the end of your mission to free you from your burden. You're not a pirate." Kakashi paused when he noticed Naruto had zoned out while staring at Hinata.

"As I was saying… you're not cut out for this. You should really think about taking that girl and settling down." He slapped the blonde on the back and went back to reading his novel.

"You think she would?"

"I've been reading these novels for years; even I can tell when one is playing out. When the battle is over, take her and go home."

"I'll… I'll think about it." Naruto walked to the aft of the ship and leaned on the railing overlooking the sea. He seriously thought about what his future would be like after settling the score.

"You ok?" Asked a gentle voice from behind him.

"Hinata? Yeah, I'm ok. Could you leave me alone for a while? I need to think things through alone for a bit."

"Um… I guess so." She looked a little down as she turned back.

"Oh, Hinata… There is something I'd like to talk with you about; could you come by sometime tonight?"

"O… OK." She was worried about what was going on with him and decided she would have to wait to figure out what it was. She gently touched his hand and headed away from him as he requested.

When night fell, the temperature strangely remained very high and humid. There was barely enough wind to move forward and as such, no one was allowed any comfort from the heat. There was a light knock at the door of the captain's cabin. Naruto sighed…

"Come in." The door opened and like he anticipated, it was Hinata. She walked in, shyly slipping through the partially opened door. Her form seemed to shrink in size whenever she was nervous, and this was progressing in the same manner. The young captain was sitting in his chair behind the desk with a serious look on his face.

"Close the door and take a seat." She gave a slight nod and shut the door before sitting. She immediately went back to her nervous habit of tapping her fingers as they sat in complete silence.

"Hinata, after we complete our mission against Konoha; what do you plan to do?" He inquired, hoping to gauge the situation

"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it."

"I think you should." He urged.

"Why, I can't stay here anymore?" She asked, showing the unease on her face.

"It's not that… I'm going to retire from this life and decommission the Kyuubi when we finish."

"Then I… I don't know. When we are done, I won't have a place to call home. Where am I going to go?" Her eyes were beginning to water as she thought about it.

"That's why I asked you here… When I go home…" There was a few moments of dead silence while he tried to assemble his words correctly.

"When I go back; will you come with me?"

"Go with you? What do you mean?"

"You really need me to say it?" He let out another sigh and turned to face the wall. "I'd… I'd like you to live with me when I go back." There was another long break where there was absolutely no sound. Naruto was too afraid to turn around and see her gone, but whet he didn't expect to see was a woman with tears dripping from her cheeks. It was difficult to see in the dim light in the room, but when he turned, he could see it. She slowly raised her head and displayed a sweet smile though the tears.

"I… I'll go with you. Actually, I would like that." She answered.

"You will? That's awesome!" He jumped over his desk and scooped her up in his arms and hugged her tight.

"You really don't mind being with me?"

"No, of course not…" She moved her head out of his grasp and gently kissed him to prove her point. After pulling back she buried her face in his neck without even looking at his stunned expression.

"I can't believe I did that." Came her muffled comment. Naruto could feel her face heating up as she held onto him. Part of her didn't want to let go because she enjoyed the contact, but there was another part that didn't want him to see how embarrassed she was with her forwardness.

"Hinata?" He pulled her back to look at her face and was overwhelmed by how she looked and how he felt for her at that moment.

"Do you think you would…?" He nervously scratched his head, and her arms tightened around his torso.

"Would you like to spend the night?" Her face flushed darker than before and there was no answer, but she didn't loosen her grip on him either. He leaned forward and returned the earlier kiss with one much deeper and passionate. Hinata made no attempt to stop him and was clearly actively participating in the kiss. She let out a surprised, muffled scream when she felt her body fall onto the bed with the blonde captain on top of her, still keeping contact with her lips. When he finally broke off from her, he smiled at her half opened eyes and reached for the bottom of her shirt.

"Is this ok?" He asked while tugging on the shirt. She was much too embarrassed to answer verbally and only raised her arms so he could slide the clothing off of her. Her creamy white skin was revealed bit by bit until her top half was completely uncovered and still being in a state of extreme bashfulness, Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him firmly over her body.

"I… I've n… never…" He responded with a nod and kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear.

"Me neither."

Morning aboard the Kyuubi was unbelievably hot, but not nearly as hot as what happened in the captain's quarters during the night. Naruto stepped out into the sun without his shirt once again and breathed in the air. The dull, heavy scent of the pitch sealant was unbelievably thick in the heat as it oozed from some of the joints while in a quasi-melted state. There was a sweet, yet salty, smell mixing in with it from the mess hall but it couldn't quite do battle with such a heavy smell and was easily drowned out.

The captain moved to the aft and took his usual thinking spot while looking out across the sea. The light breeze ruffled his hair and washed some of the overpowering tar smell away with it. He closed his eyes and heard the rippling of the massive red sails and the light creaks from the ropes and masts at the mercy of the wind's forces. As he was enjoying the senses of the sailing experience, he felt a hand contact the top of his with their fingers intertwining.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, as the young woman flipped her blowing hair behind her ear.

"A tad tired, but I feel great." She answered.

"That's nice to hear… I'm sure we're going to encounter some enemy resistance today, so I want you to be careful."

"I'll do my best." He smiled at her and gave her shoulders a light squeeze.

"Well, I guess it is time for me to act like a captain again." He kissed her cheek and headed back to his cabin and threw on the rest of his clothing so he looked the part once more. After returning to the deck, he hurried up to the quarter deck and took his usual captaining spot by the wheel. He took out his scope and started scanning the horizon.

The day continued to drag on without conflict, nothing was spotted on the long range scope; the sea was empty. Naruto sighed as he went about scanning the horizon for what seemed like the millionth time that day. The countless looks and glances earned him nothing. He was just about to take a break when something strange started to appear. The object sat like a ship in the water, but there was a lack of sails upon it, just a trail of smoke billowing out above it.

"Everyone stay on guard, something is approaching at 2'oclock." All those with scopes looked in the direction of the approaching intruder and were as equally as confused with the strange look of it.

"Any idea Kakashi-sensei?"

"Only one… an Iron Clad."

"An Iron Clad? What's that?"

"A ship covered with iron armor and runs on steam. Normal cannonballs have been rumored to bounce off of their hulls."

"Are you kidding? How many of these things are out there?" He wondered, hoping there weren't too many in existence.

"No idea, since I'm not privy to that information anymore, but there can't be too many. Konoha has an abundance of wood but not the materials to refine for large amounts of iron. You would need to procure mining… … …?"

"What about mining?"

"That mining island had everything necessary to create iron clads."

"So… are you saying those Akatsuki were part of Konoha's fleet?" The events just started to get more intertwined.

"Actually, if I were to guess, Konoha is part of their fleet. That could be the whole reason for the loss of the 'Yondaime Hokage'."

"Right, so on the chance that Konoha is part of Akatsuki, how many ships would we be talking here? There were 10 stationed outside of Grass Island."

"If we are correct in this assumption, this Iron clad may be the last hurdle before reaching the batteries on the shore of Fire Island. Last time I served as captain, Fire Island usually kept a naval fleet of about 15 war ships at any given time. Now of these 15 usually only 3 to 5 were stationed around the island, the rest were executing mission of anti-piracy and such among the Elemental Islands."

"So, why would they leave Fire Island unguarded?"

"Probably because it serves no purpose anymore." Kakashi pointed out.

"Well, it's great that we only have to deal with this one ship, but how do we take down something so heavily armed?" Naruto asked, with a contemplating look.

"Remember the shells we loaded onto the 'Kurenai'? Those howitzer shells are explosive. If we let them loose, we may detonate their ammunition and end their ship." Shikamaru suggested.

"How about using the Rasengan?" The blonde wondered to himself out loud.

"That weapon is still erratic. We have no idea what causes it to fire and the last two times it reacted, you were out cold for days. I talked it over with Shikamaru and he agreed that there was something dangerous with the link between you and the cannon. If at all possible, we don't want to use it."

"Captain, we are starting to see the Island!" Shouted a crew member on lookout duty.

"And the Ironclad?"

"It isn't advancing on us… It would seem they are at full reverse, possibly falling back to reinforce the harbor."

"Got it, relay all this to Shikamaru and stand by to receive our tactics… All hands to battle stations!" The crew scrambled to their positions as they awaited their orders.

xxxx

Minutes and minutes passed with the minutes turning into an hour. The small fleet continued following the iron clad ship closer to the island and quickly got to realize just how large Fire Island was. The land was covered in a lush forest and you could just now start to see the droves of wildlife taking flight above the trees.

"Sir, the Iron clad has stopped."

"Alright men! Onward into battle." The red sailed fleet proceeded onward without letting up on the speed until the howitzers were within their maximum range and the sails were closed to stop the ships. The 'Kurenai's' foremast folded forward and cleared the trajectory of the howitzers being uncovered. Shikamaru was below deck, running the calculations for aiming the devices when the order came in.

"OPEN FIRE!" The large cannons sent up the first salvo, and while most missed their target completely, Shikamaru was able to start making adjustments for better accuracy.

"Captain, incoming on our 6!" Naruto whirled around and saw the 5 remaining Akatsuki ships bearing down on them.

"We'll bring the Susanoo and the Kyuubi behind the Kurenai for a broadside attack." He ordered.

The two larger vessels got into position on either side of the Kurenai, with their broadsides pointed towards their enemies with the Akamaru positioned at the rear of the merchant ship. In battles like this, the best thing for a small ship like that to do is to stay out of the way.

"The Iron clad has started approaching at a high rate of speed!" The smoke billowed from that ship as it accelerated to speeds incapable by sail. With the added rate of speed, the calculations for artillery fire became more complicated.

"FIRE! EVERYONE FIRE!" Naruto shouted. Cannon blasts deafened everyone within earshot. Iron was hurtling in every direction as the small fleet was getting surrounded by ship to ship fire, one in front and 5 behind. The ones approaching from the rear were just now within firing range and the Kyuubi's cannons roared to life.

"Now! Begin operation." As quickly as he said that, the Susanoo's sails dropped and it started to turn towards the 5 Akatsuki ships. The ship was moving along at a slow pace due to having to cross the direction of the wind. The five ships moved closer together to assure the fleeing ship wouldn't make it by and started firing their forward cannons. The projectiles ripped through the sails and started knocking down the masts, forcing the ship to come to a stop. The five ships moved to surround the Susanoo when it suddenly exploded, engulfing the ships in a ball of flames.

"That's a shame." Sasuke commented with a sullen look aboard the Kyuubi while watching the Susanoo burn. He was strangely emotional at the loss of his ship, but it had done its job well. The five Akatsuki ships were burning with it in a massive ship funeral.

"Shikamaru's plan went well." Naruto commented while smacking the Uchiha. "Now help coordinate the end of the Ironclad."

Naruto was correct, Shikamaru's plan did proceed as planned. They had rigged the vessel with all the extra gunpowder available into the center of the ship and lined the walls with pieces of iron coated in pitch, so when it exploded, there would be hoards of fiery shrapnel launched in every to help spread fires. Even though that part was a success, there was still the problem of the ironclad ship nearly upon them.

"Sir, we're not going to sink it in time!"

"Drop the sails! Get us out of the way!" Naruto commanded. "Let out the auxiliaries!"

The sails dropped and the two remaining large ships lurched forward, scrambling to get out of the way of the ironclad ship. The Kurenai was easily out of the path of the ship, but the Kyuubi was still in danger even with the added sailing surface from the auxiliary side sails. Naruto jumped to the wheel and wrenched the ship towards the starboard side.

"Grab something and Hang on!" He ordered as the iron clad ship glanced along the side of the ship. The Kyuubi was pushed upwards, tilting the ship to its side creaking and scraping down the length of the ship until the armored vessel passed by, allowing the Kyuubi to settle back into the water.

"Get me a damage report!" The crew was scrambling around the ship while Naruto grabbed his scope and dialed it in on the fleeing iron clad.

"What the hell!" Naruto shouted in disbelief.

"Kanchou?"

"The ship, everyone is dead, and the deck is in shambles, but the hull is still undamaged… This may just be the end of wooden sailing vessels." The blonde was amazed at how resilient that ship was, but fortunately for them, the crew wasn't made of steel.

"I suppose you are right." Kakashi relented. The ironclad ghost ship tore straight through the burning wreckage of the other 6 ships and kept on going. At some point it will run out of fuel for the steam engine, but for now, it is unstoppable.

"Sir, we have multiple hull breeches and repairs are underway." One of the crew hands informed in reply to the earlier request for a damage report.

"Good, how long?"

"About an hour."

"Half it."

"Aye sir." Naruto sighed and firmly grasped the wheel. He would have loved to sprawl himself out on the deck and take a breather, but he had to keep his appearances up. Once they were clear from the wreckage and was sure the iron clad was out of sight, Naruto locked the wheel in its current direction.

"Strategy meeting… We're making land fall tonight." The ships slowed and gathered together so the other captains could board and head to the Captain's cabin. Shikamaru had his map out and was pointing at a few strategic points of interest when Hinata entered and all eyes turned to her.

"Hinata… We'd like to avoid needless destruction and since you lived in Konoha, we'd like your suggestions and input." She nodded and came around to look at the map.

"There should be two major targets, one will be the manor where my clan lives. They are masters of hand to hand combat, so be careful of them. And the next is the Village hall where the council conducts their business. You will also want to take out the four artillery emplacements at the mouth of the harbor. The Kurenai should have the range to take them out without being in their firing range."

"OK, thanks a bunch… Well, anything else you need Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

"No, this is enough… the plan is simple… Force our way in and follow the suggestions of Hinata."

"Then that's settled… Move out!"

The sun was starting to set upon Konohagakure no kaikou. The brilliant red hues of the fading light emblazed the unsuspecting land in a foreboding color. The citizens of the port town were starting to set off for home when a massive explosion was felt, shaking the ground. The men of the village paused and looked for the source of the quake.

"It's here! The Kyuubi is attacking!" Shouted a man as he ran through the harbor town, inciting panic to all. Three more massive explosions soon followed in quick succession before all hell broke loose in the village. Iron projectiles flew overhead, smashing through walls and buildings, sending clods of earth spiraling into the air.

"Where's the defensive line?!" Called out a village elder as he ran towards the village hall for shelter.

"Danzo-sama, have you heard back from the Akatsuki fleet?" he called out as he entered the hall.

"Nothing… We got word that the Kyuubi broke through their blockade and took out half of them in one attack."

"What should we do?"

"I guess we should…" He then paused as there was this strange whistling noise. "… Kiss our asses good bye?" the whistling stopped when it was replaced by a thunderous echo as it rocked the building. The walls started to crack and the roof began caving in.

"Oh god!" The man spoke as he looked up and saw at least five flaming projectiles falling towards the ground. The balls exploded upon contact and engulfed the building and inhabitants in a raging inferno.

The flames were growing in the village as it started to swallow everything in its path. The villagers were torn between fleeing and attempting to apply water to the burning buildings when the bombing suddenly stopped.

"They're coming ashore!" A villager shouted as he witnessed the landing ships being rowed to shore.

"Guard the women and children!"

Naruto and his band of pirates landed on the shore of Konoha. Hinata was by his side as a guide through the town, hiding slightly behind his raised sword.

"Alright men, just like the other times…. Let's go!" The large assault group started their invasion when a shaky man ran out waving a white flag.

"Please, spare the women and children!" He begged. "Take my life instead." Naruto raised his sword and halted his team's advance.

"Stand up." He ordered the man. "Go and tell the rest of the villagers that we are only here for your leaders. If you do not raise arms against us, we will not fight you and you will be spared, I only want the ones responsible for the death of Namikaze Minato, my father." The man bowed his head before tuning tail and running away.

"Alright Hinata, lead us towards your clan's housing." She nodded and the assault continued. The crew spread out across the village in great numbers, fighting back those who thought to fight their advance, but without their command center the resistance was falling apart fast. Naruto and Hinata rounded the corner and saw the clan housing was in shambles. The young woman had a touch of sadness at the destruction of her home, but it passed quickly when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder.

"Be careful Hinata." He urged. She smiled and placed her hand over his and nodded.

"Thank you that helps a lot." He removed his hand and headed towards the estate entrance. They stepped over the many fallen pillars of wood and concrete, making their way through to where her father could be. Hinata was slowly looking over the fallen bodies to confirm her father's whereabouts when she felt a dull pain in her arm, someone had a crushing grip on her.

"Naruto!" She shouted, causing the man to whirl around and see a tall dark-haired man forcefully holding her captive.

"Stay back!" The man urged as he raised a short sword to her neck.

"Let Hinata go you asshole!" The man paused and wrenched the girl's face around for a look.

"Well, so it is… How did you get back here? I thought I was rid of you for good." Hinata gasped.

"What do you mean?"

"Our Navy was running short on capital, so I arranged you to be kidnapped for a large sum of money."

"But I'm your daughter!"

"I never saw it that way… You were the daughter of that whore who couldn't keep her mind off Hizashi, my brother, even after I killed him. She kept going on and on about how she missed him, even while in my bed."

"That's… that's horrible!" She shouted in disgust.

"Oh, would you like to hear more?"

"No… I don't need to hear anything else from you. You're a monster and you helped kill my mother who was on the 'Yondaime Hokage'."

"My, my, don't we have a bit of knowledge? Where did you hear this from?" He asked until he realized the sharp glare coming from the blonde. "You, huh? You seem familiar…" Hiashi snickered.

"Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag, or so it goes…" The elder Hyuuga started. "True, I was one of many behind the sinking of the Yondaime Hokage, but I bet you didn't know this part… Your mother survived." Hinata gasped when he paused with that news.

"Yeah, she was alive until I slit her throat!" Hinata turned from surprised to pissed in an instant and started struggling against her father's grip when she heard a booming voice.

"Let her go or I'll blow your head off!" Naruto commanded with his flintlock pistol aimed at the man.

"Are you going to take that chance? Those things aren't very accurate, but that sure does bring back memories… I remember the last time a guy pointed one of those at me. He was a survivor as well, but his flint got wet and didn't fire, so I killed him as well… what was his name again… Oh yeah Minato… He looked a lot like you."

Naruto gritted his teeth and started applying pressure to the trigger of his gun. Hiashi noticed and He further hid behind the girl like a shield, further angering the blonde. Naruto was so fueled by his anger that he was starting to entertain the notion of firing just inches from Hinata's face with the inaccurate weapon when a loud bang rang out. There were tears flowing down Hinata's face while she shook uncontrollably while her father's grip loosened on her body. A large smoking pistol fell out from her clothing and hit the ground along with the male Hyuuga. Naruto lunged forward and caught the woman's small frame in his arms before she hit the ground.

"Are you Ok Hinata?" She didn't answer and just wept on his shoulder. She knew that he got what he deserved, but he was still her father. Naruto held her tight and noticed there was just a bloody spot where Hiashi had fallen and no body. His eyes darted around in search for the man when he suddenly saw him with sword in hand lunging forward. Without a moment to spare, he lifted his pistol and fired directly at the man's face without any hesitation. Hinata jumped from the sudden gunshot and tried to look back, but her face was held forward.

"Ok, now it's over." He muttered and led the woman away from the gruesome sight left behind them. There was no way he'd let her see what a man's face looked like after a shot by a .62 caliber projectile. The pair stepped out of the ruins of the Hyuuga estate and heard the softening sounds of battle starting to subside in the village. They followed the sounds which soon broke out into victorious cheering, marking the end of their campaign. Naruto had to laugh though as he saw his crew cheering and dancing since the villagers were joining in the celebration.

"I guess the villagers didn't like their leaders either." Naruto commented.

"Yeah… it is too bad there is no one here to lead them." Hinata mentioned with a sly smirk.

"You have a point… Wait are you saying?" She just smiled and looked down at her feet.

"You are a great leader, just not one made for looting and pillaging; besides… look at all those villagers. This place may hold many bad memories, but after seeing how happy they are, how could we resist?"

"You… How long did you have this planned out?"

"Since… that night." She replied with a blush.

"So you really want to live here?"

"Yes Naruto-kun… Let's live here together." Naruto smiled and pulled Hinata with him to the middle of the crowd and jumped up onto a ledge.

"Alright men!" He shouted to get everyone's attention. "Hinata and I have decided to live here and help this village thrive. You are all welcome to stay or go." There was silence from the crew as they contemplated that their journey was over, but the more they thought about it, the more they realized what they wanted.

"It won't be the same without you captain! I can't go back to being a normal pirate!" One man shouted

"Yeah!" Shouted a chorus of other crew mates.

Years have passed since the Kyuubi Pirates took the village of Konohagakure no Kaikou and ending up settling there. The crew used the many pounds of gold which were pirated to build up the city to it proper glory and enjoyed the peace which fell as the age of pirating started to close with the invent of armored warships.

Naruto stood in a large warehouse looking up at the massive ship sitting in dry-dock storage. He moved his hand across the hull and felt the deep gouge from striking the iron clad. He had a small grin as he remembered all the missions they completed upon the vessel and how much joy the ship brought.

"Naruto-kun… Do you miss the pirating?" He looked over at the voice of his wife and smiled.

"Not at all…" He wrapped his arm around the woman and placed his hand on her bulging stomach. "I was just thinking about taking the kids out when they are older."

"They?" She asked while holding her stomach.

"Well yeah, it's not like I'll be able to keep my hands off you after just one." She just giggled and nestled her head against his chest.

"I guess we could have a few more."

"A few?"

"Yep… I can't keep my hands off you either…"

The pair continued laughing at their little jokes when they suddenly heard the whirring of the large cannon on board the Kyuubi. They never really ever figured out what it was that powered that large canon, but that could be a whole other story.

I really didn't intend to publish this one, but after finding it again in the depths of my HDD, I figured... why not? It isn't a bad story...

Hope you enjoyed and maybe this wont be my last... but I wouldn't bet a lot of $$ on it ...Later